Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust Review

Larry is put under the spotlight but is it an award winning performance or a total bust?

How the mighty have fallen, (or retrospectively, maybe iconic would be a better term). Larry Laffer has been gracing our gaming systems since the 1980’s, and no matter how many times the adventure genre resurrects itself, he manages to claw himself back with another release. With his 2009 makeover completed, the bane of women everywhere is back with Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust – with our emphasis on the ‘bust,’ (and not the enjoyable lady kind).

Leisure Suit Larry comes from a time of lost-innocence. When the series was created, the industry was still being pioneered by bedroom coders and small developer studios. Games were still a niche entertainment medium and the demographic was vastly male. Therefore, it was inevitable that an interactive form of softcore porn would surface. Popular for obvious reasons, Leisure Suit Larry enjoyed healthy sales figures and joined in with the debauchery of the 1980’s.

Pervert!

Busted!

Then everything changed. The industry began to grow up – PR, business and the mainstream crushed the concept behind Larry. Yet, the developers (with or without the influence of creator Al Lowe) continued to make games based on the balding pervert. Continually decreasing in quality, we finally arrive at Box Office Bust, an Xbox 360, PS3 and PC relaunch staring the nephew of Laffer, Larry Lovage.

History lesson aside, this adult themed game takes place at a struggling movie studio. Lovage is working for his uncle which means generic ‘errand missions,’ while simultaneously attempting to unearth a secret-selling-rival-studio mole. Premier game design right there. While not winning any Oscars for its narrative, the story does make sense (even if it is farfetched) and will hold the more patient of gamers.

If you’re here for the cleavage, rather than the storytelling, then thankfully the cut scenes can be skipped. Voice acting lacks substance and the jokes / profanity have been done to death. There’s little evidence of anything fresh no matter how hard the developers have tried. It’s the same old toilet humour and sexual innuendo that manages to make you embarrassed, rather than amused.

and action!

Hollywood.

When you’re not groaning at the writing, you’ll be grimacing at the awkward controls. We played the PC version and found Box Office Bust extremely frustrating to control. If you have a control-pad handy then it elevates some of the pain, but the inclusion of a free-roaming camera, which without warning switches to a fixed place perspective causes many missed jumps. You’ve got your double jump, balance mechanics and shoddy driving to equally annoy.

The game takes place in an open-environment which means the vast majority of your time will be spent getting to and from missions. It’s boring, and there’s nothing to do in-between. There’s a helpful minimap to ensure you do not get lost, and plenty of post-vans littered around the world to quicken navigation. Even when you’re on a mission, the mediocrity fails to go away. You will definitely struggle to get through Box Office Bust. It’s unimaginative, repetitive and lacklustre in every department.

Westworld.

Pretty Green Eyes.

The sound design lacks any direction, the music bland and the graphics, while not terrible, fail to excite. Offensive character models, odd physics and repetitive textures are all common place. The game has an outdated cartoon look that’s intended to charm, but instead looks out of place alongside Sam & Max / Wallace & Gromit.
Whether it’s misplaced game design or just an archaism that isn’t valid in gaming anymore, Leisure Suit Larry has lost its edge. Needlessly rude to the gamer, consumer and your intelligence, you shouldn’t waste your time. A total bargain bin bust.

LEISURE SUIT LARRY: BOX OFFICE BUST VERDICT

Whether it’s misplaced game design or just an archaism that isn’t valid in gaming anymore, Leisure Suit Larry has lost its edge. Needlessly rude to the gamer, consumer and your intelligence, you shouldn’t waste your time. A total bargain bin bust.

TOP GAME MOMENT

Revenge throwing Larry off a roof and breaking his legs in the process.